Shoe-protector for wheel-tires.



No. 778,768. PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904B O. A. WORTHINGTON.

SHOE PROTECTOR FOR WHEEL TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1904.

77775; 7? Imam ma C/W (b -F030 fl. OfiT/W/VGTOM UNITED STATES PatentedDecember 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

SHOE-PROTECTOR FOR WHEEL-TIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,768, dated December27, 1904.

A li ti fil d August 24, 1904. Serial No. 221,984.

To (0L6 w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD ALBUNUs WoR'rHiNe'roN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Trenton, New Jersey, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Shoe-Protectors for Tires of Automobilesand the Like, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide a protector for tires ofautomobiles and the like in the form of a shoe composed of rubber andcanvas molded into form to fit the tire at.

the place to be protected, where it is held by a lacingcord passedthrough eyelets embedded in the composite material of which theprotector is formed.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of partshereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the protector;Fig. 2, an end view, and Fig. 3 a sectional view.

In carrying out my invention I employ a composite material for theformation of a shoe or protector made up of rubber having incorporatedtherewith a layer or layers of fabric, and the said shoe or protector isformed by molding the material so that certain points may be madethicker than others, and thus provide for the additional wear or strainto which they are subjected in use.

The shoe or protector, for instance, is formed thickest at the treadportion and at the portion 1, where the eyelets 2 are located forreceiving the lacing-cord 3.

In molding the protector the ends are rounded off, so that the front andrear edges will be comparatively thin and will lie close to the tire ofthe wheel, so as to offer no obstruction to the smooth running of thewheel. The molded thickened portion for the eyelets extends along theupper meeting edges of the protector, and at the end this thickenedportion extends downwardly and tapers to the edges of the protector.

The shoe or protector is of substantially cylindrical form incross-section, and its ends are cut so as to lie in the radial planes ofthe wheel. The fabric which is incorporated in the molded rubber mayconsist of one or more layers, and these are located in the inner sideof the protector. The eyelets have broad flanges which grip thecomposite molded material on the outer and inner sides thereof, the saideyelets passing through both the rubber and the incorporated fabric. Ifind that with composite material of the character described the eyeletswill be firmly held in place and are not liable to be pulled from thematerial, as is the case where eyelets are inserted in plain rubber orin a plain rawhide shoe or protector.

I reinforce with an extra thickness of cemented duck under each eyelet,as indicated at 5, which adds materially to the strength at thesepoints. IVith a molded article of this character having reinforced orthickened portions at the desired points a shoe is provided which willmaintain its shape against wrinkling or buckling, as the reinforcedportions extending along the upper edges of the shoe and the thickenedportions extending along the bottom will act as longitudinal bracing orsustaining means to hold the shoe against buckling, and by reason of thefact that the incorporated fabric is exposed on the inner side of theshoe the said shoe will securely grip the tire, and will thus aid theclamping effect of the lacing-cord to hold the shoe against slippingaround the tire.

I claim as my invention 1. A shoe-protector for automobile tires formedof rubber and canvas molded into shape, and braced longitudinally by athickened portion extending along the tread and thickenedportionextending along each free edge and tapered downwardly along theend of the protector, the said ends being molded to a thin edge, andeyelets embedded in the reinforced longitudinal edges, the said canvasbeing exposed on the inner side of the shoe, substantially as described.

2. A protector or shoe for automobile-tires,

formed of composite material molded into In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in shape, and comprising an outside rubber porpresence of tWoWitnesses.

tion and textile material incorporated there- Y j x H T in, said textilematerial being exposed on the OLIMORD ALBUAUS OMHDGIOA' inner side ofthe shoe with eyelets inserted Witnesses: through the said compositematerial, substan- EDW. W. DAYMoND, tially as described. CHAS. H.VVILLIAMs.

